How to Choose Custom Planners or Notebooks: Key Recommendations

Suppose you’re new to custom planners or planner printing and production, whether you want to design your planner or choose a manufacturer’s public edition. In that case, we recommend filtering through the following points to find a suitable product type faster:

1. Product Type

There are four major categories of product type, each suitable for different materials. In other words, not all materials universally apply across the four major categories. Therefore, if you can determine the type, we will provide relevant materials or samples, and you can choose a suitable style from there.

2. Budget

From a budget perspective, starting with general materials, the order of planner unit prices from high to low among the four categories is as follows:

Loose-leaf Planner > Removable Planner > Hardcover Planner > Spiral-bound Planner > Paperback Planner.

Of course, customization content, material, and quantity can also affect the cost. The suggested minimum order for customization is 500 pcs.

You are welcome to contact us via WhatsApp for a free online consultation with our specialists.

From a functional perspective, there are the following four types:

1. Loose-Leaf Planner: The inner pages can be replaced, and the cover can be used for several years. Common types include metal clips, plastic clips, and pull-out binders.

2. Hardcover Planner: The cover is attached to the inner pages and cannot be replaced. The cover is relatively sturdy, making it a popular choice abroad.

3. Spiral-bound Planner: The spine is not glued, and the inner pages can be torn out individually but cannot be added. Single-coil bindings are rare in domestic markets, while double-coil bindings are more common.

4. Paperback Planner: The cover is like a book jacket, and the entire inner section can be replaced anytime. Common types include high-frequency welding and sewn methods. Due to the cover design, the overall size tends to be more compact.

Custom planners come in many styles, and each type has its advantages. Below is a general explanation of the advantages and disadvantages of each type:

• Hardcover Planner
  Recommended Advantages： It retains the elegance of traditional books, such as rounded backs or certificate-style structures. You can choose paper for color printing or high-quality leather, each with unique characteristics.
  Disadvantages： The cover and inner pages are glued together and cannot be separated. If the inner pages have dates, the entire book becomes unusable after the dates pass.
  Recommended Styles: Custom Planner Hardcover Styles.
  

• Loose-Leaf Planner
  Recommended Advantages： The cover and inner pages can be replaced as desired. If the inner pages run out, you only need to buy refill pages. The design is flexible and varied, and there are traditional loose-leaf planners and removable planners.
  Disadvantages： The loose-leaf clip in the middle can be obstructive during writing. The middle spine area is challenging to write on, and the clip makes the overall structure heavier.
  Recommended Styles： Custom Planner Loose-Leaf Styles 
  Removable Planner Recommended Styles： Custom Planner Removable Styles
  
• Paperback Planner
  Recommended Advantages： Traditionally, PVC material is used for high-frequency softcover planners, a more affordable approach. PU material is also available with a book jacket-like design, making it easy to replace the entire inner section.
  Disadvantages： The inner pages are glued, making it challenging to lay flat.
  Recommended Styles: Custom Planner Paperback Styles
  
• Spiral-bound Planner
  Recommended Advantages： The cover can be flipped 360 degrees completely to the back, making it more convenient for standing or moving than sitting down to write. Drawing books often use spiral binding.
  Disadvantages： The inner pages cannot be added; they are only torn out. Double spiral binding sometimes obstructs writing.
  Recommended Styles: Custom Planner Spiral-bound Styles
  

You can contact us via WhatsApp for a free consultation with our specialists.

Besides size, we recommend dividing custom planners with public inner pages by function. Standard formats are as follows：

1. Monthly Plan： The main page is a monthly planner with lined memo pages for extensive note-taking. Every month’s daily highlights won’t be missed.

2. Weekly planner on the left side: When opened, the main page has a week of seven days on the left and memo pages on the right. This facilitates recording daily details and ensures work progress.

3. Weekly planner with 3 days on the left and 4 on the right: When opened, the left page has three days, and the right page has four days.

Additionally, there is a one-day-per-page format, where a page can record an entire day’s content. This format suits those who love to write and works well as a diary. This format is limited to size A5(25K).

Various public inner page formats can be referred to as B5(16K) Inner Pages, A5(25K) Inner Pages, B6(32K) Inner Pages, and 48K Inner Pages.

In book manufacturing, one must be familiar with pre-press layout, blueprint plate-making, printing ink & colors, large paper folding & binding, post-press processing, foil stamping & embossing suitability issues, paper & leather characteristics applications, book structure such as thickness calculation, covering multiple fields. The skills are profound, and styles are hard to list comprehensively.

On Leatai’s official website, we’ve outlined the four major planner types. As a manufacturer, we will provide professional explanations and suggestions if you propose an idea. You’re also welcome to visit Leatai in person, where we have numerous materials that we believe will inspire you to create excellent designs.